


Till War Do Us Part

by CityofAangels



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Broken Family, Bunch of idiots, Fix-It, Hurt Steve Rogers, Hurt Tony Stark, Love ?, M/M, Not Captain America: Civil War (Movie) Compliant, Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Steve suffers (not sorry), not even sorry, panick attacks, so much feels
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-03
Updated: 2016-10-13
Packaged: 2018-08-19 07:58:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,962
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8196860
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CityofAangels/pseuds/CityofAangels
Summary: The final fight of Civil War is a bit different. Tony gives up and refuses to hurt Steve.Who leaves anyway. Because Captain America can be kind of a dick.Mayhem follows, with broken hearts, broken bodies, broken friendships, broken family.Will they be able to get back together ?





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Hello !
> 
> I'm not even lying, I saw Civil War three times, and my heart totally broke three times. I can't with this movie. Steve pissed me off to no end during the entirety of it (sorry, Cap's fans, I loved him in all the other movies, but in this one, it's juste a huge no). Tony and Bucky made me want to cry during the entire two hours.  
> So, here it is. My terrible way of coping. All of them will suffer, but Steve more than most because, in my mind, he deserves it, totally. Will he have an happy ending ? Ah. The future will tell.
> 
> Enjoy !
> 
> P.S. : French is my first language, not English, so I'm terribly sorry for all the mistakes.

\- I won't stop, Tony. He's my friend.

 

Tony sighed in defeat, quickly scanning his surroundings. Barnes, lying down a few meters away, barely moving, most of his metal arm missing. The cold and dark walls of the building, reminding him way too much for his liking of Afghanistan. And Steve. Fucking Steve, bleeding, hurt, tired, but still standing, still fighting, never giving up.

He _so_ wanted to end him. And to kiss him. And then to end him again.

 

He knew, deep down, that he was gonna regret it, one day or another. But he also knew he couldn't act any other way.

He put the faceplate up, wiped his brow with a trembling hand and finally looked up, summoning all his courage left.

 

\- So was I, Cap. So was I. You know what ?

 

He took a step back, disengaged the suit, stepped out of it, hands in the air, still looking at Steve, whose face was now totally confused. Tony shivered slightly, his few light clothes not doing much again Siberia's biting cold.

 

\- Do what you have to do, Steve. Kill me. Don't. Run away with Barnes. Whatever the hell you want. I can't do that, I… I _can't_.

\- Tony, you…

\- Give up. Yeah. You're my fucking _friend_ Steve. I equally want to kill you and to help you at the same time. But I know I won't ever be able to forgive myself if I hurt you more than what I already did. So. Your choice. You know where to hit if you want it to end quickly.

 

Steve's baby blues looked at him for a very, very long time, not even blinking. It was like time suddenly stopped in this damn place, the entire world waiting for Captain America to make a decision. Tony did his best not to shiver, not to show his fear or his totally misplaced feelings. He knew he was taking risks, what with Barnes not totally down, Zemo not far away and Steve full of hate and anger. But he honestly didn't care. This whole circus had already gone too far. He had almost lost Rhodes, his best friend of many years and, whatever the man may say, he knew it was at least partially, if not totally, on him. He had lost his whole team, almost all his friends, teared Clint's family apart, made Wanda appear like some kind of freak, probably traumatised a way too young superhero and more than probably lost Pepper forever. He couldn't keep on. What happened now had to be Steve's choice. Regardless of what it would be

Tony could see the exact moment when Steve made his decision. His shoulders sagged, a bit of the tension disappeared and his eyes were suddenly filled with sadness. The genius braced himself, waiting for the shield to fly, for Steve's fist to connect with his head, anything. He wanted it to end, _now_.

But apparently, Steve didn't even want to do him this little pleasure. Instead, he took a step back, tried to clean the blood on his face – and smeared it everywhere in the process – and turned his back to Tony, heading for Barnes. In Tony's head, a million possibilities to kill Steve, or at least stop him for now, appeared. He was vulnerable in this posture, and he certainly knew it. As he knew that Tony would hold his promise and not do anything.

 

Feeling as if he was in a totally different dimension, sounds and colours barely reaching his brain, Tony absently looked as Steve helped Bucky stand up and put an arm around his waist. He heard them talking between them, too softly for him to hear anything and he saw Barnes shrugging and shaking his head. He was fighting for consciousness when they began to walk away, and he barely saw Steve turn around to look at him one last time.

A few minutes later, he was alone, surrounded by cold and silence. He stopped fighting and fell to his knees, accepting the darkness as his only loyal companion. 


	2. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony flies to safety, finally.
> 
> Also, Bruce happens.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay, it's me again !
> 
> I'm happy to see that people like this beginning. Thanks for the kudos and comments, means a lot to me :)  
> I've been writing very fast yesterday and today (it's 6 PM in here, I don't have a weird schedule... Well, not too much), so here's a new chapter. I can already tell you that my way of posting them will be weird. I write when I have time and inspiration, I hate to force myself, so sometimes I have looooong periods of no writing. I know, it's sad.
> 
> English is still not my first language, so I'm very sorry about all the stupid mistakes.
> 
> Enjoy !

When he opened his eyes again, everything in his body hurt, with the notable exception of his feet, which he couldn't feel. Fucking cold. He was still alone, not a single noise around him as far as he was aware. He briefly wondered where Zemo went, but quickly decided that it wasn't really important in his current state.

He considered crawling to his suit, which was a few very, very long meters away, but the little dignity he had left motivated him to at least try to get up. Slowly, he tried to move his toes and winced, barely stopping a moan, when he recovered a bit of painful feeling. Fights with not one, but _two_ supers soldiers, were a very bad idea. Duly noted.

He didn't actually remember getting up and going to the suit. It was a small miracle he didn't fall and break one of his old bones in the way, a miracle he couldn't explain. Once the suit closed on him, he gave himself a few seconds to close his eyes and breathe deeply. Which, frankly, bad idea. He must have had at least two broken ribs, and he didn't even want to think about the colour his skin would take in a few days. Hours ? Minutes ?

 

\- Fri, he said, wincing when he heard how hoarse his voice was. Time ?

\- It is exactly eight fifty-five in the morning, boss.

\- Shit. Was I really out of it for ten hours ? What the fuck ? Couldn't you wake me up ?

\- Being an alarm clock is not included in my coding, boss.

\- Very funny, Friday, really, I'm dying of laughter in here. Seriously, d'you think you can bring me home ? Not sure it's a good idea for me to fly currently.

\- Of course, boss. Which home are you referring to ?

 

Well, that was a good question. He didn't want to go anywhere where someone could find him right now. In fact, if he could be alone, with the exception of Friday and his bots, for the rest of his life, he wouldn't complain. Even if he knew, deep down, that it wasn't really a possibility.

 

\- You know the house I have in France ? In the middle of nowhere ? Let's go there and see what happens. It can't be colder than in here.

\- Noted, boss.

 

The hour of flight it took to Friday to get him to France was a blur for Tony. He was vaguely aware of flying over Europe, of drifting in and out of consciousness, and of the probably very good idea of calling a doctor to his place, but his thoughts didn't go further. He just wanted a bed. And alcohol. For therapeutic reasons, of course.

The house was clean and smelled good when he arrived, which meant that Friday had had the very good idea of calling someone for a bit of cleanup. He left his suit in the hall, checked at least four times that everything was locked and went to the closest bed he could find.

 

 

***

 

 

The feeling of pain everywhere when he woke up began to be a bit unnerving. As a human superhero, without serum or God-like organism to help him, he had experienced different level of pain, broken bones and concussions. But that ? Totally different. Literally every bone, every muscle, every centimetre of skin was painful. He couldn't move without feeling like his body was tearing apart, and his sleep was more like a short coma than an healthy sleep.

 

\- Hey, Friday ? he asked softly, realising a bit too late that even talking was painful. You know Bruce's address, the one I stocked on a secret file ? Contact him, please. Tell him I know he knows what happened. That it's over, there's no risk anymore for him of hurting people. And tell him…

\- Yes, boss ? pushed Friday when the silence became a bit too long.

\- Tell him I need him. That I know he probably still is angry at himself but that I really, really need him right now. Send him the address, and call for someone to go fetch him if he asks for it.

\- Very well.

 

A few days after it became apparent that Bruce would not return willingly, Tony had begun to look for him. He knew it wasn't a particularly bad idea, but he also knew that, if Bruce truly wanted to disappear without ever being found, he would have done so. In this case, he was almost totally sure that Natasha also knew where the good doctor was hiding. However, both of them were smart enough to let Bruce enough time to grieve and come to terms with what he had done – or, more precisely, what the Hulk had done. As far as Tony was aware, Bruce was still in India, the country where he had found refuge so many times before. He just hoped he would accept to come back for his pitiful self. He wasn't a big fan of asking for help, far from it, but even he wasn't stupid enough to think he would do well on his own. He was totally aware of his self-destructive tendencies and had absolutely no will to try them as soon as he would be better.

 

 

His painfully dry throat reminded him that staying in his bed all day was, unfortunately for him, not an option. He was ready to suffer a bit more – after all, so much of his body was already shouting in pain – but his bladder did not at all agree with his plan. Alright. So, getting up. That was a thing he should do.

 

\- Tell me, Fri, is there any chance for me to find alcohol in here ? Painkillers ? Drugs, maybe ?

\- I do not think you will find a bottle of alcohol. A few months ago, you asked me to get rid of all of them in all your residences. Painkillers are available in every bathroom. However, I would strongly advise not to take drugs with them.

\- Yeah, well, thanks. Guess I'll have to do with some aspirins. Any possibility you suddenly become human and bring me a glass of water and some toilets ?

\- I am very sorry, boss, but I do not think that is in my coding.

 

 

Rolling his eyes – Friday's sarcasm was still not totally on point – Tony slowly and carefully tried to sit down. Well, at least one thing was clear : he wouldn't run a marathon in the following days. Not that it was one of his ambitions, but still. You never knew what you might need to do.

The walk to the bathroom, even if it was a very short one, was a pure disaster. He almost fell at least twenty times, hit his knee, which seriously didn't need more pain, lost his balance and saw the wall from far too near. But he survived and didn't finish head first in his toilets, which was already a small victory. He swallowed a bunch of painkillers, almost able to see the pained expression Bruce would have had seeing him do that, and slowly returned to bed.

He did the maths mentally and concluded that, if Bruce had decided that he wanted to help him, he wouldn't arrive before at least twelve hours. Time to sleep again, apparently.

 

 

*** 

 

 

\- For fuck's sake, Tony, did a truck hit you ? Repeatedly ?

 

Well, as far as wake ups went, the last few ones in Tony's life weren't the best ones ever. Far from it. At least Bruce was here, which meant that… he was going to make him regret what happened, one way or another. Ok, time to go back to sleep.

 

\- I know you're awake, genius. Don't even try ignoring me.

\- Oh, hey, Brucie-bear ! Didn't even hear you coming, you make so little noise ! What's up ?

\- Seriously, don't.

\- Don't what ?

\- You called for _help,_ Tony. You. Called. For. Help.

\- You know, f you keep going like that, you will finally succeed in hurting me. Which, let's be honest here, I don't really need right now.

 

Bruce sighed and Tony grinned. At least, he had diverted his attention from what happened.

 

\- Tony. Please, answer me : what happened ?

 

Or not. It was his turn to sigh. He finally opened his eyes and met Bruce's worried and a bit angry gaze. At least, his skin was not green. Yet. He kind of liked this house.

 

\- Ok, listen, it's not that being in a bed with you is not the biggest dream of my life but could you, maybe, help me sit down somewhere else ? I still have some dignity, you know.

\- The way you look right now, I swear you're not moving from this bed before at least a week.

\- Great. Amazing days in perspective. At least help me sit up in here ?

 

Bruce rolled his eyes but came close to the bed and helped Tony sit, placing enough pillows in his back for it to be comfortable, at least as much as possible in his current state. And if his hand stayed for a bit longer than normal on Tony's arm, well… None of them needed to comment on it.

 

\- So. What happened ? Basically, Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes happened. Didn't you see the news ? Do they have TV in India ?

\- Yes, I saw it and yes, they do. But that didn't explain anything. You fought in the middle of an airport ? What the hell went wrong ?

\- Well, don't ask _me_ ! Ask Mister Captain America, if you can find him. Basically, the government wanted us to sign some Accords, so they could decide where they needed us. Except that Captain I-Am-Free-To-Make-My-Own-Choices obviously didn't agree. And then, Bucky – well, a false Bucky, not the real one – killed the king of Wakanda during _the_ meeting to sign the Accords. And then Rogers went to save Bucky, with his bird-friend, and they all got arrested, and I tried to help them, but Steve refused, and Bucky escaped, and Steve followed him. Then the airport. By the way, your girlfriend betrayed us. Then Siberia, where they tried to kill me. And, small detail, where I learned that Barnes killed my parents, which sucks if you want my opinion. And then I told them I didn't want to hurt them and they left, and I almost froze to death in the middle of nowhere and now I'm here. _La fin_.

\- Are you high ?

\- What ? No ! Well, maybe I took a bit too many painkillers. Why ?

\- Because that made absolutely no sense.

\- Yes it did !

\- For you, maybe. For me ? Absolutely not. But don't worry about it, we'll talk later, when you're feeling better. Did you see a doctor ?

 

Yeah, he certainly wouldn't worry about talking. Bruce-I'm-Not-This-Kind-Of-Doctor-Tony had a tendency to make him take a lot about things he didn't want to talk about. Maybe it was the threat of the Hulk coming out if he refused to speak. Who knew.

 

\- Of course I didn't. Why do you think you're here ? But Bruce, I have to tell you, I think my whole body is broken.

\- That's what you get when you fight with supersoldiers and superheroes.

\- Once again, _not_ my fault.

\- Yeah, sure. Friday, were you able to scan him ? Can you tell me what's wrong ?

 

Tony's brain kind of stopped working a bit from this moment on. He was vaguely aware of Bruce's increasingly worried face when Friday listed every broken, cracked or sprained part of his body but, once his very nice doctor gave him strong stuff, the only thing he was able to see were pink elephants. In tutus. Which was funny, but probably not the reality of what was happening. Well, he would worry about that later and sleep now.


	3. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A lot of Bruce-Tony dialog.  
> A glimpse of Natasha.  
> And also, you know, a small mystery.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So MUCH dialog. My God, I hate writing that, I hope it doesn't sound too weird.
> 
> Also, I love Bruce but I have a lot of difficulty about understanding how he thinks, speaks and acts. I don't know why, but that's a fact. Did my best with what I thought of him, but it may be a little out of character. Sorry !  
> And I know it isn't obvious, but I L-O-V-E Natasha. She's like, one of my favourite Marvel characters ever. But she made Tony suffer, so she deserves to suffer a bit too. Not even sorry.
> 
> Still no beta (although I almost sent it by mistake to my English teacher, which wouldn't have been awkward at all, of course).  
> Enjoy !

**Chapter 2**  

 

 

\- He's a _mess_ , Natasha. What the hell did you do to him ?

\- Bruce, please, calm down. You know how Tony is, he's always…

\- Exaggerating ? Is that what you were going to say ? You have no idea of his current state. He's so in denial of what happened I'm not even sure he realises it's the truth. Except he has all the broken bones to prove it. And, you know, the trauma to come, too.

\- The fight in Leipzig wasn't so violent !

\- Come on, are you serious ? First, are we talking about the same battle ? For fuck's sake, Nat, Rhodey almost died and you destroyed approximately six planes. Is that what you call not violent ? And, second, that wasn't the _only_ fight. They fought in Siberia apparently. Maybe you can explain ? And maybe you can also explain why Tony seems to be convinced you betrayed him ?

 

The silence that followed succeeded in being at the same time angry, surprised and sad. Bruce sighed and closed his eyes. Deep down, he had known it was a bad idea to call Natasha. He knew that she was hiding somewhere, fleeing from the government that desperately wanted to find her. Their chances were very slim: if Natasha didn't want to be found, she wouldn't be. He hadn't even thought she would answer his call but, apparently, he was an exception to her silence. The result was that, when she answered, he wasn't totally managing the anger he felt since he had seen Tony, broken, once again. Natasha's calm and the fact that she appeared to be totally delusional absolutely did not help.

He took another deep breath and looked inside Tony's room. He was still sleeping, hopefully not in as much as pain as he was before – Bruce had done the best he could with what he had, but Tony would have obviously needed an hospital. And probably a psy, too: what he had told Natasha wasn't a lie, Tony's current psychological state was disturbing. He was joking, smiling and talking as if nothing at all had happened to him. As if he hadn't just been betrayed – _once more_ – by what he thought was a friend. Obviously, the moment he would realise, fully realise, the extend of what happened, it wouldn't be pretty at all.

 

\- I told him I would help him find Bucky and Steve, finally answered Natasha. I did.

\- Why do I feel like you're not telling the whole truth ?

\- Listen, Bruce, you weren't here, you don't really know what happened, and…

\- No, _you_ listen. You stop this bullshit right now and tell me the truth. Nat, you know I care about you, but Tony scares me. I need to know what happened and _you_ need to tell me. Now.

\- I helped Bucky and Steve run away.

\- You what ?

\- I was protecting the Helicarrier they wanted. They came and I let them pass. I could have stopped them, I could have let the Black Panther stop them, but I didn't. I let them pass, and after that, Rhodey got shot trying to stop them. So Tony feels like I betrayed him because I did.

 

Well, that was unexpected. This information certainly didn't appear in the newspapers. He had thought the government wanted to find her because she hadn't succeeded in catching Bucky and Steve on time but that… was worse.

 

\- Well. Okay. You know what ? I need to go.

\- Bruce, wait. What I did… I had no idea it would have these consequences. I knew Steve wanted more than anything to help Bucky, and I know how that feels. Had I known what would happen…

\- You know, you could just tell me you regret doing it.

\- I could, yes.

\- But you won't do it. Because you're Natasha and regrets are not your thing. Right. Well, I really need to go before Tony wakes up. Just one thing : don't come looking for us. I know you could, but please, do me at least that favour and leave us alone.

 

He hung up and took a few deep breaths. The last thing they needed was a Hulk destroying a small French village, but it had been a while since he needed so much control to stop it.

 

\- Hey, Bruce ?

 

Tony's unexpected voice startled him and he quickly turned around, trying to hide his cellphone behind his back. Tony's eyes were half open, his voice a bit slurred, but he was indubitably awake.

 

\- Yes ?

\- Talking about me behind my back ? Not cool. Plus, your girlfriend is kind of an ass.

\- That she is, agreed Bruce with a small angry laugh.

\- This whole situation was a mess. I'm not saying I'm not angry with her, because I certainly am. But, please, try to really talk to her before turning green and crushing her. As break-ups go, that wouldn't be pretty. And I know you care about her.

\- I left for India without telling her anything.

\- Well, yes, ok, your relationship is kind of weird. But that's us, superheroes, we're unable to keep our girlfriends, apparently.

\- Tony… I'm really sorry about Pepper.

\- I am too, trust me. But I think she deserves better. Anyway, she probably won't want to see me ever again, so at least, she won't have to break up for good with me. At least, there's that.

\- Come on, Tony, you know that's not your fault. She has to know that, too.

\- If you say so. Hey, any chance you bring me something to eat ? I'm kind of hungry.

 

Bruce opened his mouth to try and convince Tony that what had happened really wasn't his fault, but he closed it again very quickly. Tony was Tony, and blaming everything that went wrong on himself was one of his things. One day, soon, they would seriously talk about it, but now was not the time, he was still too weak.

 

\- I can do that. Nothing solid, though, your jaw is pretty badly bruised. Better not to make it work too much.

\- Which means soup. Great, I love soup. Favorite meal, healthy, and everything. Can't wait.

 

He grinned to show Bruce he didn't really care, but quickly winced, his split lip not totally agreeing with the sudden movement.

 

\- Stop hurting yourself and wait for me. Don't do anything stupid.

\- I'm a pro at not doing anything stupid when you're not there, you should know, look at me !

 

Bruce snorted and shook his head, going to the kitchen. As in every house Tony owned, all the cupboards were full, with an astonishing quantity of choice. He sometimes wondered who bought the food and brought it there, or what was done with what Tony didn't eat. At least, it meant that Tony wouldn't have to eat the same broth every day during a week. Bruce could almost hear the never-ending complaints he would have endured it that had been the case.

A few minutes, he was back in the room and smiling when he saw that Tony had turned the TV on and was watching a Disney movie.

 

\- Here, dinner is served.

 

Tony smiled, grateful, and took the bowl from his hands.

 

\- So, doctor, tell me. What's wrong with me ?

\- Well, that's a long list. Are you really ready for this ?

\- Surprise me.

\- You have two very pretty black eyes. Well, no, actually, a black eye and a purple eye. Suits you. Your jaw is bruised and one of your teeth is broken.

\- To the biggest delight of my dentist, I'm sure.

\- If you say so. I'm pretty sure you have a concussion. You have two broken ribs, as I'm sure you have felt. Broken fingers and broken wrist on your left arm, twisted right knee and broken ankle. I wasn't able to find more than two centimetres of skin that weren't covered in blood, scratches or bruises, which, even for you, is pretty impressive. I have to say, all things considered, you're pretty lucky.

\- You have a weird definition of luck.

\- Maybe. But none of your organs are touched, the broken bones should heal nicely and you still have both your eyes. You're lucky.

\- You forgot to tell me the most important thing.

\- Which is ?

\- Am I still attractive ? asked Tony, batting his eyelashes.

 

Bruce rolled his eyes and very gently shoved him, careful of his numerous injuries. He knew that he should have talked about the mental impact these last few days would have on Tony, already weakened by too many traumatising experiences, but he didn't want to do it just yet.

 

\- And my toes ?

\- Your toes ?

\- Well, yes. I was in the cold, without the suit, for ten hours. Are they all still there ?

\- I didn't see any sign of hypothermia, answered Bruce, frowning. How cold was it ?

\- Cold. Freezing. Siberia. I don't know, I'm not a thermometer ! 

\- That's weird. Guess you were lucky.

\- And there you go again with your weird definition of luck. You know, maybe I'll offer you a dictionary one of these days.

\- Go ahead. Can always be useful.

 

From there on, Bruce let Tony argue about what terrible expectations he had of him when it came to gifts. He was already listing the millions of other, better, things he could offer when Bruce began to think seriously about what Tony had told him. Ten hours in the cold, alone, with no suit, no warm clothes and no real roof above his head should have let signs, he knew it. There was something Tony wasn't telling him, or something maybe he didn't even know. He had to think about it.

 

\- An _island_ Bruce, I could offer you an _island_ and you're happy about a stupid hypothetic dictionary ? I taught you better than that.

\- Sure you did. And you should sleep, you know. You still have plenty of hours of sleep to catch. Not like there's anything else you can do.

\- Yeah, thanks about reminding me of that. I promise to behave and sleep, but one condition.

\- Shoot.

\- Can you find me a StarkPad or a phone ? I know there must be at least one in this house, there's one in every house. I'm dying of no technology here. Literally dying.

\- You do know that you're overdramatic, right ?

\- What ? Oh, Brucie-bear, you hurt me so much !

 

Well, that was going to be fun.


	4. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bruce finally discovers the truth... And Tony too, at the same time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy guacamole (yes, I am a 30STM fan, sorry not sorry), I am such an idiot.
> 
> I was absolutely sure I had nothing to do for school this week and a lot of time to write, and then I realised my organiser was open at the wrong page. And then I had to work every evening. Story of my life.
> 
> Anyway, new chapter, yay ! Finally, we learn the truth (well, you learn it, I already knew). Did I already say I love Bruce ? 'Cause I love Bruce.
> 
> I won't lie, I didn't reread this chapter yet, so it is very possible that there are more mistakes than usually. Especially since I wrote a lot of it during class (whoops).
> 
> Enjoy !

A few days later, after having checked _and_ double-checked that Tony was truly asleep, Bruce sat down, one night, in one of the sofas.

 

\- Friday ?

\- Yes, sir ?

\- Any chance you have a recording of what happened in Siberia ? Security footage, video from the suit maybe ?

 

Silence answered him but, a few seconds later, the TV turned on and pictures appeared, apparently footage that Friday had recorded from the suit.

Wincing, Bruce saw everything that happened, every hit Tony took and every punch he was able to land. He closed his eyes when he saw him stepping out of the suit and telling Steve to do what he wanted and muttered swears under his breath when he saw the doubt in Steve’s eyes. Sure, he hadn’t done anything but, for a few seconds, he had hesitated and _that_ was bad. Bruce had always trusted his leader with his life when they were fighting and seeing him in this state, almost ready to attack a defenceless and vulnerable friend left him shaking and breathing deeply to stop the deafening roar he heard in his head. A roar that became louder when he saw Bucky and Steve leaving an unconscious Tony in the freezing cold. He closed his eyes and sighed deeply. No wonder Tony was joking and doing as if nothing happened rather than remember this betraying.

 

\- Fucking _assholes_ , he swore, waving a hand to silently ask Friday to cut the video.

\- I believe you should at least see that, sir, blankly stated the AI.

 

Frowning, Bruce opened his eyes again and tensed when he saw a limping Bucky reappear on screen and approach Tony. Steve followed him a few seconds later. There was no sound, but Bruce could see him protesting and gesturing in what, he guessed, was the Helicarrier’s direction. Bucky only shook his head and sat down heavily, his missing left arm disturbing his balance. He shrugged off his jacket and put it on Tony’s motionless body, sitting close enough to give him some of his body heat. Bruce could clearly see Steve rolling his eyes before leaving the screen, coming back a few minutes later with his arms full of blankets, likely taken from the Helicarrier. Bucky took them from his arms and covered Tony with them, protecting him as best he could from the cold, taking special care to shield his feet.

Friday fasted forward the movie, only slowing on the moments when one of the both men got up to take a few steps. Finally, she showed Bruce the part where Tony began to move more and more and both men got up silently, taking with them the blankets and Bucky’s jacket. A few minutes after they were gone, Tony woke up and Bruce watched as he went to his suit, wobbling.

 

 

\- Well, he grumbled, that was...

\- Interesting ? Violent ? Heartbreaking ? Disturbing ? Horrible ? All of the above ?

\- Guess you could say that. You know you should be...

\- Asleep ? Yeah, but you woke me up when you talked to Fri. And you should too, Bruce. Didn't see you sleep a lot since you arrived.

\- I was going with 'lying down'. Your ankle's still broken, you know.

\- Woops.

\- And after that, you're wondering why I don't sleep a lot. Sit down. You want something to drink ?

\- Whisky ?

\- Water it is, then.

 

Bruce smirked when he heard Tony muttering that he was absolutely not funny and went to the kitchen to fetch two glasses of water. He lingered there for a while, taking a few deep breaths and getting ready for the talk to come. He wasn't even surprised anymore that Tony had managed to know what he was watching and had caught him. The genius seemed to have a sort of instinct for trouble and difficult situations.

 

\- So, he began, outwardly relaxed. Did you know ?

\- Had my doubts. Seemed strange that Friday would have let me die without at least trying something. Plus, you know, absolutely no sign of hypothermia ? I was fine when I woke up there, just a bit cold. I didn't know that Rogers wanted to let me die, though.

\- He didn't…

\- Don't even try, Bruce. You saw the exact same thing I did. He would have rather protected Bucky that helped me survive the cold. Guess that's what you call love.

\- They aren't in love, Tony. Steve was…

\- Steve was what ?

\- Uh. Straight ?

 

Okay, so Bruce would definitely not win the award of best liar of the year, if Tony's face was something to go by. But he had seen what Steve's betrayal did to Tony : he was woken up every night by his seemingly never ending nightmares, could see the sadness in his eyes and the way he hold himself, always curled on himself, far away from his usual self-confidence. Bruce would never in a thousand years worsen this by admitting to Tony that Steve, as far as he knew, had shown all the signs of being in love with him. As far as he knew, if both of them hadn't been terrible and blind idiots when it came to love, this situation could have been totally different today.

 

\- Yeah, I guess you're right, finally answered Tony, snorting. Wouldn't have tarnished America's image with this major flaw. Though, between you and me ? What's between him and Barnes is not simple friendship.

\- They're like brothers, Tony, softly explained Bruce. They lived through a lot together and Barnes has always been there for Steve.

 

Tony just shrugged and closed his eyes, leaning back in the sofa.

 

\- You know, Bruce, the expression on his face when I told him he could do whatever he wanted… I think _that's_ the worst thing. Maybe I'm naive, but I thought he was just gonna give up, too. Tell me we could figure something out with the Accords and Barnes. I would have done everything, and I mean it literally, to help him with his friend if that's what it would have taken. I was ready to fight Ross, I thought I could convince him not to kill Barnes, I had _plans_. And then this idiot just decides to leave me to die in the cold, and it's his murderer of a friend, a complete stranger, who decides to help me.

 

Bruce winced and got up before sitting up again, next to Tony. Touching people was far from his favourite thing but he had learned that, with Tony, it was often one of the best solutions to help him calm down. He put a hand on his shoulder, tracing soothing circles with his thumb.

 

\- I suck at friendships, and you know that, Bruce. Wasn't even able to come fetch you or help you with your guilt or whatever. But with Steve… I really thought we had something _special_ , you know ? He was always there for me, no matter the number of times I shouted at him or made fun of him and forgot I was supposed to meet him. I trusted him with my life and that's a very rare thing now. I thought… I thought I could take my guard down, for once. And then I fucked that up majestically.

\- Tony. What happened _wasn't_ your fault.

\- It was, though. I should have understood earlier that Barnes wasn't the bad guy, that fighting was useless. I should have helped him instead of going after him. And I shouldn't have reacted like a complete immature idiot when I discovered what he had done to my parents. That wasn't his fault, that was totally on Hydra and I _knew_ it. But I attack him nonetheless. What the fuck, Bruce ? Why did I do that ?

 

Bruce's chest tightened when he saw a single tear rolling down Tony's cheek before he wiped at it furiously. He didn't hesitate anymore and wrapped the other man in his arms, allowing him to burrow his face in his chest.

\- Tony, he spoke softly. I will tell you that as many times as you need to hear it. It. Wasn't. Your. Fault. Yes, maybe you could have understood that Barnes wasn't the bad guy, but everything proved the opposite. You're a genius but you're not divine. Steve let you fight. He never really tried to explain himself, he just rushed head first in everything that was on his way and forgot that some of these things were his friends, too. And for your parents, well… I didn't know what happened, Tony, but let me tell you, I know what it is to watch your mom die. Maybe it was years ago, and maybe you knew that it wasn't really Barnes, but if you saw him murder her, you couldn't react differently. She was your mom, of course you wanted to hurt whoever killed her. None of this is entirely on you, you hear me ?

 

It was as if Tony had waited this moment for days; he completely broke down, finally letting Bruce see the entire extent of his trauma and his pain. Not truly sure of how to react, Bruce just hold him tightly, slightly rocking them and muttering little things in Tony's ears, repeating again and again that it wasn't his fault. He felt his own eyes getting damp, but blinked a few times, fighting his tears. Tony's vulnerability touched him, it was the first time he really saw him letting his guard down, and, right now, he couldn't let him down.

They stayed like that for a very long time, until Tony's breath finally came back to normal and his tears stopped. He took a few deep breaths but made no move to leave Bruce's embrace, instead curling a bit closer to him.

And, of course, this was the precise moment Friday chose to announce that a certain Miss Potts was calling and insisting that Tony answered.


End file.
